Around the World in the Good Ship DOGGEREL, 13

A doggerel series about the countries of the world.

Bahamas.

These islands sound so good right now—

The snow is swirling right outside.

If I could go to Nassau—wow!—

I’d feel as if I’d gone and died

And found a heaven (snowless, please!),

Where sun and beaches dominate—

All soothed by some sweet balmy breeze.

Let's book a flight—and set a date!

The islands’ independence came

In 1973. We know

That tourists ever are the same—

They fly home sunburned—not much dough

Remains. But, oh, they’ve had such fun—

Such food! Such pleasure!  No remorse.

Though—ouch!—there is that burning sun.

And extra pounds to lose, of course.

Around the World in the Good Ship DOGGEREL, 12

A doggerel series about the countries of the world.

Azerbaijan.

It sits there near the Caspian Sea—

The capital, Baku,

A city rich in history …

I really had no clue

About so much about this place

That once had formed a part

Of that vast empire (Soviet—

Not noted for its heart).

But pictures show a beauty and

A land of mystery—

A place where people have some hope—

The hope that they’ll stay free. 

Around the World in the Good Ship DOGGEREL, 11

A doggerel series about the countries of the world.

Austria.

The Danube flows there—mountains rise.

The villages—rich with surprise.

Vienna—where the music soars—

And when it rains, it really pours.

It really doesn’t want to claim

That Hitler guy of darkest fame.

But there are others—Sigmund Freud,

Who’s kept psychiatrists employed.

And Mozart—Strauss (those music kings)—

And dukes and others—queens and things.

Oh, Austria has been a place

That elevates the human race!

Around the World in the Good Ship DOGGEREL, 10

A doggerel series about the countries of the world.

Australia.

Oh, Land Down Under! Continent!

(New Zealand is not far!)

And right nearby? Van Dieman’s Land—

You can’t get there by car.

Transported convicts came in waves—

And natives were displaced,

Just as we here—the USA—

Arrived, displaced, disgraced.

The animals are awesome! There's

The duck-billed platypus—

The wallaby, the kangaroo—

So many to discuss!

I haven’t been there—wish I had.

The landscape’s awesome, Yo.

A continent that’s full of things

I’ll never come to know.

Just like so many other things

I will not get to do—

Because the time is close, of course,

When I’m Down Under, too!

Around the World in the Good Ship DOGGEREL, 9

A doggerel series about the countries of the world.

Armenia.

There’s Turkey to the west, and it

Has Georgia to the north. And hard

To spell are other ones that fit

Her other borders. And once scarred

By genocide—the nineteen-teens.

And conquerors have come and gone:
They work their ways; they vent their spleens—

Imposing, stealing. Might and brawn.

But independence came at last

In 1991. Since then

Some struggles—but they have held fast,

And hopes are higher than they’ve been.

Round the World in the Good Ship DOGGEREL, 8

A doggerel series about the countries of the world.

Argentina.

Sitting there with Aqua Fina

Thinking some ’bout Argentina—

Pampas, horses, and vaqueros—

Wondering: Do they like sparrows?

Nazis hiding from their evils—

Knowing: They are human weevils?

There I prob’ly will not travel—

We get older—lives unravel.

Still … aboard a steed a-gallop--

Thinking I might eat a scallop—

Horse named Silver—like the Ranger’s—

“Do not pull your guns, fool strangers!”

Riding off to the horizon—

Got no signal: Damn Verizon!

Around the World in the Good Ship DOGGEREL, 7

A doggerel series about the countries of the world.

Antigua and Barbuda.

Two islands. Caribbean Sea.

With so much common history.

The Spanish came. And then the Brits.

Whose presence gave the people fits.

But then in 1981

Came independence. We are one!

And tourists now provide the loot—

And there’s no need to be astute:

The islands thrive; the islands gain

From those who’d once brought naught but pain.